'The Families Stone' — Jean Smart joins the cast of the sequel 'The Family Stone 2'

The cast of the sequel to the Christmas classic The Family Stone of Searchlight Pictureswhich will be titled The Families Stonea luxury member has announced.

This is the talented actress Jean Smart (Hacks), who joins a cast that includes returning members of the original cast from the 2005 film, Claire Danes like Julie Morton, Rachel McAdams como Amy Stone, Dermot Mulroney como Everett Stone, Sarah Jessica Parker like Meredith Morton, Craig T. Nelson like Kelly Stone, Luke Wilson like Ben Stone, Tyrone Giordano like Thad Stone, Elizabeth Reaser like Susannah Stone, Paul Schneider like Brad Stevenson and Brian White like Patrick Thomas.

The sequel will set its plot 20 years after the events of the original, with Thomas Bezuchawho wrote and directed the original film, back in both roles.

The official synopsis shared by Searchlight Pictures reveals:

“Twenty years after their mother's death, the Stone family reunites for Christmas, only to face the biggest surprise of the season: their father has unexpectedly invited the woman he fell in love with to meet the family.”.

Smart will be playing the new love of Kelly Stone, the Stone patriarch, according to information from Variety.

Filming will begin this fall in New York.

Smart is best known for leading the cast of the HBO series, Hacksfor which she has won the Emmy for best actress in a leading role in a comedy series five consecutive years, that is, the entire duration of the series that aired its final season this year. Smart became the first actress to win an Emmy for each season of the same series.

His other television roles include Mare of Easttown, Watchmen, Legion, Fargo, 24among others. In the cinematographic field he has been part of Babylon, Wildflower, Garden State, The Accountant, Senior Moment, A Simple Favor, Sweet Home Alabamaamong others.

The plot of the original film, known in our region as The family jewelcenters on the Stone family's eldest son and prodigy, Everett (Mulroney), who during Christmas brings home his conservative girlfriend Meredith (Parker) to meet his parents—played by Diane Keaton and Nelson—and his siblings, Amy, Ben, Thad and Susannah (McAdams, Wilson, Giordano and Reaser). Everett planned to propose to Meredith, but she, overwhelmed by the family's hostile reception, asked her sister Julie (Danes) to accompany her, triggering a Christmas visit that unleashes chaos during the holiday celebration.

The tragicomedy had a global box office of $92.9 million (not adjusted for inflation), while it was received mixed by critics, however, The family jewel It has become one of the audience's favorites, reaching cult status, as well as one of the most watched films during the holidays.

Writer-director Bezucha revealed he was working on a sequel a month after Keaton's death in October 2025, stating that he was already working on the script when the actress lost her life. In the 2005 film, Keaton plays matriarch Sybil Stone, who dies from a terminal illness during the final stretch of the story.

Producers on the sequel include Michael London and Shannon Gaulding of Groundswell Productions, and Parker and Alison Benson of Pretty Matches Productions.